Stamford Charter School for Excellence, which is based on the proven model of the Bronx Charter School for Excellence, is set to open in the fall. The charter school in Stamford is accepting applications for pre-K through first grade.

My Spectrum School, a gifted and talented early childhood education school, opened in Port Washington in October. The school also offers gifted and talented after-school programs and a gifted and talented summer camp.

New York International School, as part of the British School Foundation, will open on the Upper East Side in the fall. The Manhattan international school will first open its international preschool and older grades in following years.

Ecole Internationale de New York, a French-English school for grades nursery through middle school, plans to relocate its preschool in January. The bilingual school also recently added a seventh grade, and plans to add its eighth grade classes next year.

The Whitby School, a Montessori school in Greenwich, offers PlayBright, a mommy and me social group, for children ages 5 and younger and their parent. PlayBright plans to offer a new lunchtime event, as well as parent workshops.

East Wood School, a pre-nursery through eighth grade private school in Oyster Bay, will offer a preschool class this year. The class for 2-year-olds includes daily lessons, music, physical education, art, and free-play time.

The Clover Hill School, a Waldorf school for preschool and kindergarten-age children based in Norwalk, CT, was once only an idea brought up in a Stamford church meeting room. This year, it celebrates its 10th anniversary.

Fusion Academy, a private school of the Fusion Education Group, is scheduled to open in late June. The Downtown Brooklyn school offers students a personalized education in a one-on-one learning atmosphere.

Greene Hill School in Brooklyn is now accepting applications for the middle school it plans to open for the fall semester. The Brooklyn middle school follows a humanities-based curriculum and is aligned with the New York state Common Core standards.

Speyer Legacy School, an elementary and middle school in Manhattan for advanced learners, moved to a new location, which was designed by architect Chris Grabé, on the Upper West Side. The school features learning through self-questioned and self-investigated thinking.

Upper West Side college prep school Dwight School recently opened its athletic center in East Harlem. The school signed a long-term lease with 1199 Housing Corporation, owners of the East River Landing apartment complex, to refurbish an existing facility. The Dwight School Athletic Center is open to students and the residents of East River Landing and offers athletic classes and programs, including tennis, swim instruction, Zumba, and yoga.

Ecole International de New York, a bilingual elementary school, added a middle school program starting with a sixth-grade class this September. The French-English bilingual international school in Manhattan aims to have students become bilingual within a few years.

UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2014: Prepare for back to school time in Brooklyn, New York, with a wide range of after-school programs for kids, Brooklyn sports teams and programs for kids, after-school tutors in Brooklyn, music classes, dance and gymnastics classes in Brooklyn, from Carroll Gardens, to Williamsburg, Brooklyn Heights to Park Slope.

Emanuel Lutheran School in Patchogue is now offering scholarships for students who transfer from public schools, as well as matching funds for students who transfer from other private schools. The school also has a brand-new playground for preschoolers.

Here are some organizations and resources that can advise you on navigating tuition, understanding state school evaluations, zoning, and more--a great way to further your own knowledge on this important journey for you and your child(ren).

Public or private school? If you think about how much time your child spends at school, you might become very overwhelmed trying to pick the right one. Our area experts help you consider what’s most important—for your family.

A new website by EduProfile includes profiles on thousands of private and public schools in New York City, plus a school comparison tool and tips for parents on school admissions, entrance exams, school tours, and more advice that makes choosing a school easier.

Green Meadow Waldorf School in Chestnut Ridge will open a satellite Early Childhood Center in Tarrytown, New York, in September, bringing its preschool and kindergarten curriculum to Westchester County.

Millions of families each year face the question of how to pay for college. And it’s not one that’s easily answered without the help of some kind of financial aid. A survey by The Princeton Review found that 86 percent of college applicants and parents of applicants said that financial aid would be "very necessary."

After receiving a grant from the Arts Council of Rockland and the Arts-in-Education Program of the New York State Council of the Arts, Blue Rock School jumpstarted a new environment-inspired arts program called "Making Art from the Landscape," with a focus on indigenous art and people.

If you think that preschool time is just about unstructured play and napping, think again. There is now more emphasis on academics than ever before, and this means preparation is critical during the preschool years.

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NYMetroParents is the parenting division of Davler Media Group and encompasses 9 regional print magazines within the greater NY metro region as well as the website (nymetroparents.com). Following the success of the first NYC parenting resource book, "Big Apple Baby," BIG APPLE PARENT was launched in 1985; it is now the largest publisher of regional parenting content in the United States.